There's nothing more delightful than finishing a mission ahead of schedule.
On the second day of their expedition, shortly after setting out, their walking encyclopedia, Dipan, suddenly paused and exclaimed in surprise. Judging from the tracks on the ground, he said, the high-legged birds' nesting grounds were nearby.
Everyone was excited. But not for long, because they soon learned what it meant when the gods open a door for you… only for it to lead straight into a labyrinth.
Imagine you set out as a valiant hero, eager to slay a dragon, only to arrive and find that what lies ahead isn't just a dragon's lair, but an entire dragon city.
We can't say how those legendary heroes of old might've felt in such moments, but Allen and his group were now vividly reminded of an old wizarding phrase:
"I have orange marmalade oatmeal, should I use it as an oar?"
...Which essentially meant: This is nonsense. We're outta here.
And so, they retreated, quietly, discreetly, and with zero shame.
Because seriously, twenty high-legged birds were gathered in that area.
To put it in terms anyone could understand: if a dragon was like an Apocalypse Tank, then these high-legged birds were the Rhino Tanks of the magical world.
Sure, an Apocalypse Tank is a souped-up version of the Rhino, but what Apocalypse Tank could hold its own against a whole pack of coordinated Rhinos?
Even Allen, armed with his most powerful wide-area spell, Murder of Crows, a magic he used in tandem with his owl Valor, knew it wouldn't be enough. Not by a long shot.
Trying to fight those birds would be like offering themselves up on a silver platter. Scratch that, more like becoming dessert after the main course.
Allen wasn't exactly eager to get a headstone reading:
Here lies Allen, Model Student of Hogwarts, Diligent, Honest, Academic… Died from being an Idiot.
No thanks.
So no, soloing was off the table. And even if they could take down one, what would be the point? There was no reward worth that kind of risk.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
"Guys, I've got good news and bad news!" Dipan suddenly announced after they'd put a safe distance between themselves and the bird horde.
The group, still a little shell-shocked, turned to him with dull eyes.
"What's the bad news?"
"As you saw," Dipan said, "we can't beat the flock in their current numbers."
"No kidding. We figured that out ourselves," someone muttered. "So what's the good news?"
"There are so many of them, we could each bring one home!" he replied cheerfully.
His only response was a chorus of "Screw you!" and a dozen raised middle fingers.
Still, joke or not, they couldn't just change their target on a whim, especially not when they were all top students from their respective houses. Their pride wouldn't allow them to back down without even trying.
So, in the shadow of a tree where the sun couldn't reach, they cleared out the native bugs, scorpion lizards, crawling insects, and the like, and began to craft a cunning trap for the high-legged birds.
••┈┈┈┈┈༓┈┈┈┈┈•••
But things weren't going to be easy.
Sometimes, the "stubborn dumb ones" are even harder to trick than the clever ones. And the high-legged birds were exactly that kind of dumb, bullheaded and determined.
From the brief glimpse they'd gotten earlier, they realized these birds were currently in egg-laying season, which meant they were a mix of hyper-vigilant and downright volatile.
Their chase range was smaller than usual, only a few paces before they'd retreat, but their alert range had doubled. Meaning, any trap was likely doomed from the start.
And to make things worse, if anyone dared steal one of their eggs, they would hunt them to the ends of the earth.
Which wouldn't be so bad, if the nests weren't so close together. Touching one egg would alert the entire flock. And once the birds started screeching in anger, not even the most skilled wizard could Apparate away.
In short, certain death.
But as the saying goes: "Where there's a will, there's a way."
So they came up with a ruthless plan.
They had no choice. If they didn't scatter the flock somehow, this entire region would be ruined. The high-legged birds were omnivores, and would devour every magical creature they came across, and when those eggs hatched, it would only get worse.
No trap was more savage than fire. And no poison deadlier than starvation.
The plan came from that squinty-eyed Seeker from Uagadou. His idea: strike at night while the birds slept. Start a fire to destroy their food stores. Use the Aguamenti charm to control the flames, enough to ruin their supplies without seriously injuring the birds.
The logic was simple. With less food and a ravaged environment, the birds would be forced to spread out to forage, creating an ambush opportunity.
A bit childish? Sure.
But effective? Absolutely.
That was the plan, anyway.
Too bad they didn't get a chance to use it.
Before they could even act, they heard agonized shrieks echoing from the birds' nesting grounds, loud enough to reach them from a distance.
When they peered in that direction, a giant cloud of dust had already risen high into the sky. And over it, the unmistakable roar of a bear.
A Newt Bear.
A magical beast on par with dragons.
And, as fate would have it… the natural predator of the high-legged bird.
You see, the Newt Bear's favorite food was none other than high-legged bird eggs. And there was nothing the birds could do to stop it.
That's right, even a flock of these terrifying birds, more fearsome than dragons when gathered, had no way of stopping a Newt Bear.
Their razor-sharp beaks, capable of piercing dragon hide, could only leave shallow punctures in the Newt Bear's thick skin, wounds that barely tickled the creature's appetite.
So while the students were busy scheming, the Newt Bear had already sat down to an all-you-can-eat buffet.
By the time Allen and the others cautiously approached the site, after the dust had settled, they were met with a heartbreaking scene:
The high-legged bird flock had scattered and fled. Only abandoned nests remained.
And the eggs?
Gone.
All that remained were cracked shells scattered like broken plates after a feast.
The students stared in stunned silence.
All their planning, all their strategies, wasted.
Where was the epic battle of wit and brawn? The grueling camp siege? The shocked expressions of the entire school when they returned victorious?
They hadn't even reached the "power up and prep" phase yet. Their top-laner (a.k.a. Allen) had just finished farming, and the Newt Bear had already taken down the final boss.
What the hell?! Was this even fair?!
Couldn't they just have one game where things went according to plan?
But the bear didn't care. The bear was like:
"While you were busy scheming, I walked in and devoured the prize."
"Well," Dipan said after a long pause, "not much left to say. I guess we'll just have to settle for the scraps. Everyone split up, first one to take down a high-legged bird gets bragging rights. And remember, stay safe."
"Charlie, you and the others keep an eye on, "
Zap!
A sudden Petrification Curse hit Dipan mid-sentence, freezing him in place.
Once the spell was lifted, he scratched his head sheepishly.
"Right, right… Allen can take care of himself. Just, uh, be careful, alright?"
==========
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