Lucky Rabbit

The harpy was enormous. Fully ten feet tall from tail-tip to the crest on her head, her taloned toes were curled around a perch that was straight out of a birdcage. Her plumage ranged from deep red to rich blue, as if an Amazonian parrot had merged with an actual Amazon. Her body was almost entirely avian, seamlessly merging into humanoid shoulders, neck, and a face that could have belonged to anyone, other than the feathered crest that rose as they entered. She didn’t speak, just stared at them with round black eyes, then raised one of her clawed feet to scratch at her head.

All three children froze, staring right back at the bonus-sized bird-lady. Thaniel and Geraldine looked frankly delighted, while Abbington was uncertain. Miss Cupcakes had no such problem, however. The instant her cold yellow eyes landed on the harpy, she flattened her body to the ground, producing a soft chirrupping sound as she began to slink forward. Her tail was twice its usual size, and given how fluffy she was, that made her look a bit like a bottle brush on a mission.

Pandy had explained this encounter to Augustus as well, so he began to circle around the wall, away from the children. This immediately attracted the harpy’s attention, though Pandy could have sworn one of those dark eyes remained on the rest of the group – specifically Miss Cupcakes – even as she watched the chancellor with the other.

Shifting so the children were sheltered by her body, Pandy pointed toward a box that rested directly beneath the harpy’s perch. Given that ninety percent of a bird sat above it, the neat little box and its surroundings were remarkably clean.

“That’s what we’re here for,” Pandy told the three children. “How do you suppose we should-?”

“Miss Cupcakes! Naughty kitty!” Geraldine burst out, interrupting Pandy and startling absolutely everyone in the room. They all looked around, trying to find the cat, who had somehow managed to go from a few feet in front of Pandy to halfway up the wall, where a torch flickered, providing a slightly ominous atmosphere to the upcoming confrontation with the boss.

Completely ignoring the gout of fire that burst from the end of the torch, Miss Cupcakes launched herself toward the harpy. The harpy straightened, crest rising and tail spreading, then, without releasing her perch, she gave a single fierce flap of her wings. A gust of wind rose from nowhere, sending the kitten tumbling head over tail to smack against the wall.

Conveniently – or perhaps intentionally, you never knew with him – Augustus was standing directly beneath the kitten and caught her easily, though he probably regretted it as soon as her claws sank into his flesh. The chancellor barely flinched, though, just tucked the cat back under his arm and ran back toward the others.

<Minor Heal Augustus. Minor Heal Miss Cupcakes,> Pandy thought as they approached.

Minor Heal successful.

Healed Augustus Blackwood for 4 HP.

Minor Heal successful.

Healed Miss Cupcakes for 5 HP.

Letting out a relieved breath, Pandy stepped aside so Geraldine could gather her furious feline into her arms. The girl chided the cat even as she checked Miss Cupcakes for injuries, but of course she wouldn’t find any. In fact, if this went like it did in Gacha Love, no one should get anything worse than some light bruises, which Pandy could heal right away. Of course, Pandy was also ready with Shield of Darkness, just in case real-world Soonya was more aggressive than the game version.

Augustus stepped up beside her and murmured, “I didn’t consider what might happen if we brought a cat into a dungeon with a Galeshrike.” He sounded amused but also a bit worried, which seemed like a reasonable reaction.

Pandy shook her head. “As long as she doesn’t trigger Soonya’s Ultimate Attack, it’ll be-”

“Miss Cupcakes!” This time the shriek was loud enough to shatter glass, but more importantly, Geraldine ran past Pandy and Augustus, chasing after the kitten that had once again escaped her grasp and was somehow clinging to the wall next to the grimly burning torch.

Pandy launched herself after the girl just as the harpy – apparently also known as a tier three Air elemental called a Galeshrike – decided that she couldn’t depend on a single directed blast of air to fend off both interlopers. She flapped her wings twice, not quite lifting from the perch, then opened her mouth and screamed.

Everyone cried out. Pandy knew this because their mouths opened and they clapped their hands over their ears, but she couldn’t actually hear anything over the sound that continued long after any mortal bird would have had to stop. Pandy grabbed Geraldine and pulled the girl backward, already sending heals out to all of the party members. The only one who hadn’t taken at least a few points of damage was Brook, who had her little round ears folded down in a way that totally shouldn’t have helped, but apparently did.

Abbington had already taken hold of Thaniel and was dragging him toward the stairs when the ringing in Pandy’s ears faded enough for her to hear again. “We should let’em take care’a’it,” the Valley boy said, and for a moment, Thaniel almost looked convinced. Then his ears must have popped, because his eyes widened and he shook his head, knocking the heel of his hand against his ear.

“I want to know what’s in the box,” Thaniel said, even as Pandy placed Geraldine on her feet next to the boys, and a rather more shaken and bloody Augustus returned the kitten to her mistress again. This time, rather than focusing on the harpy, the chancellor crouched down in front of the cat and looked straight into her slightly crazed eyes.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to tell Mr. Farrier you’re not allowed in the kitchen anymore. Especially on fish night,” he told the feline. Miss Cupcakes’ eyes had dilated the moment they landed on her avian foe, but now they snapped to Augustus and she let out a pathetic, trilling mew. He shook his head with grim determination. “Not even a bite.”

Miss Cupcakes’ ears went down, but so did her tail, and she turned her back on Augustus, burying her head in the crook of Geraldine’s arm. Geraldine stroked the cat’s fluffy back, clearly uncertain whether to be grateful or outraged on her furry friend’s behalf. Pandy decided to interrupt before any more words were exchanged.

“As I was saying,” she said, “we’re here for the box, but the Galeshrike won’t let us anywhere close. Does anyone have any ideas?” She fixed Thaniel with a Look. “Ideas, not actions.”

Thaniel glanced from Pandy to the bird-woman, who had settled back down on her perch and was watching them with the same kind of fixed attention a hawk might give a mouse peeking from beneath a log. “I don’t think I wanna make her mad,” he said, which was more wisdom than Thaniel usually showed in the face of Adventure.

“An excellent idea,” Augustus agreed. “We’ve seen her attack twice now. What can you tell me about her?”

“She’s mean,” Geraldine said with a glare toward the harpy.

“She’s strong,” Thaniel said.

“She’an Air element’l,” Abbington said, stating something that was obvious, but also a good starting point.

Thaniel nodded. “Air’s one of the strongest elements. That’s why Ellie’s- I mean, why the royal family likes it so much.”

“So there aren’t any obvious weaknesses, at least by elemental alignment,” Augustus said. Looking at each of them, he added, “Fire feeds on Air, but doesn’t weaken it unless there’s far more Fire than we want in an enclosed space. Water and Air work together well, but have little effect on each other under most circumstances. Light is much the same.”

Not that Thaniel could actually use whatever Light magic he had, but it was good of Augustus to include him. Though Thaniel himself didn’t even seem to notice as he turned to look at Pandy. “What about Dark? Dark beats Air sometimes.”

“Only wi’ Ice. Cold an’Dark,” Abbington said, as if reminding the smaller boy, and Thaniel grimaced.

They were on the right track, though, so Pandy said, “What else do you notice about her? Physically?”

“She’s pretty,” Thaniel said instantly, and Pandy would have sworn the bird tilted her head as if the statement pleased her.

Augustus chuckled. “All right, I’ll draw an attack again. Watch carefully and stay here.” He looked directly at Miss Cupcakes as he said this, and the kitten hunkered down in Geraldine’s arms with an irritated hiss, though she didn’t actually deign to look toward him.

Once again, the chancellor edged around the outside of the room, and this time Pandy didn’t allow her focus to wander away from her charges – most specifically a certain fiery feline. She knew when Augustus got close to the box, however, because the harpy mantled, squawked, then flapped her wings in his direction, sending him staggering back a couple of feet. That seemed to be all it took to calm the Galeshrike, who just settled one beady eye on the man, and the other on the rest of the group.

“Sh’ doesn’a move,” Abbington said at the same time Thaniel said, “She’s not flying!”

Pandy smiled at them, which encouraged Abbington to add, “Wha’if we split up? C’n she get us all?”

That was one of the things Clara’s team could try in Gacha Love, and if you did, Edgar would suggest the actual answer. The problem was, attacking from multiple directions at once would make the Galeshrike use a whirlwind attack that swept the entire group from the tower, forcing them to climb the whole thing again. It was obviously easier the second time, since you knew the trick to it, but it burned up valuable Stamina, or, in this case, time.

Besides, Pandy wasn’t certain that if they tried it in real life they would just arrive neatly at the foot of the tower again, without any damage. Reality always seemed to be at least a little different from the game, even if Keros’s magic was spawning these event locations into reality as Pandy needed them.

“We need to bring down the perch,” Pandy told them, pointing at the single thick rope that held the wooden swing. It would be much more secure with a chain, but this was the tutorial dungeon, so all the player had to deal with was a single rope. Clara could have Edgar burn it or Dorian send an ice blade through it, but of course Pandy didn’t have either of the boys here. What she did have was an Augustus.

Pulling the Ball of Soft Wax Augustus had given her from her Inventory, Pandy pulled off wads of it, rolling them into little balls that softened between her fingers. “Put this in your ears,” she told the children. “Not too deep, because we have to get it out again.” This was for Thaniel, who was already shoving the slightly sticky substance into his ear canals with far more enthusiasm than Pandy was comfortable with.

Once all three children, plus Brook and Miss Cupcakes, had their earplugs in, Pandy motioned to Augustus. He, too, had earplugs, but Pandy had chosen to go without. She wanted to be able to hear if anyone cried out, and she could fix her own eardrums if necessary.

Augustus nodded in return, and Pandy placed a Shield of Darkness around the children, using Abbington as the target. It would muffle the harpy’s scream, and also protect them in case something unforeseen happened, as it inevitably would.

Augustus flicked his fingers, and a shimmer appeared in the air in front of him. He stepped on it, leaping gracefully up and forward, and another, slightly larger, swirl of somehow more Airy air formed beneath his next foot as it came down. He leaped through the air as if he was climbing a set of large stairs, and as he did, Pandy cast Wings of Glory.

Wings of Glory successful.

-5 LF

Twenty-two uses to level 12.

Given the high Mana cost, Pandy hadn’t been able to level Wings of Glory much over the last week. She’d used any Mana she had to spare in order to repair the house’s enchantments, and there just never seemed to be enough for leveling. She had managed to break through to level ten, however, which gave her the – possibly useless – Air Affinity stat, but also reduced the damage she took from her wings bursting free to only five LF. She no longer sprayed her surroundings with blood, either, so she wasn’t quite as reluctant to use the spell around other people. Now, Pandy flew upward in the exact opposite direction from the way Augustus was approaching. If this didn’t work out, she was fully prepared to Bite through the rope, but hopefully…

The harpy-Galeshrike lashed out at Pandy with a single claw, while leaving the other firmly clenched around her perch. A single thread of diaphanous purple trailed from her leg, down toward the box. She shrieked, but Pandy was committed to her dive, while Augustus had his earplugs in. The bird-woman’s wings flapped, buffeting Pandy and blowing her back at the very hard, very solid wall of the tower, and Pandy could see the feathers atop the Galeshrike’s head rise, her tailfeathers spreading as she prepared to blow them all away.

A silver sword sliced through the rope, dropping perch and harpy toward the ground. The bird-woman gave a very different kind of shriek, her wings flapping as she desperately tried to stay in the air without her support. Her wings had been clipped, however, and she, too, fell, straight toward the very innocuous looking box… whose lid flipped open, receiving the Galeshrike into a space far too small for her huge body.

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