Dragons of Asgard 2

by Jacobs, Logan

With that, the old man gave us one final wave and a smile, and then he closed the door after us.

  The girls and I looked around at one another, and I sighed.

  An already difficult task had just become damn near impossible, but I wasn’t about to back down.

  It was time to hunt some Kingsbirds.

  Chapter 5

  The girls and I made our way back to our house so we could get our weapons ready for the trip. It would take a little bit for us to get everything we needed, and besides, the birds wouldn’t be awake until after dark anyways. The sun was beginning to set, though, so once we got our weapons and armor on, we headed toward the caves. They were about an hour’s walk out of town, but the glowing twilight was practically picturesque as we left our home.

  “So, what else can you tell us about the birds?” Asta asked Kas as we walked to the caves.

  “Not much.” The sorceress shrugged. “I’ve never actually seen one.”

  “We’re going to find a bird you’ve never seen?” Asta gasped.

  “I’ve never seen one, either.” I smiled.

  “Really?” the elf girl asked with wide eyes.

  “They’re incredibly deadly,” Kas informed her.

  “If they’re dangerous normally, then won’t they be extra dangerous now that it is mating season?” Asta frowned.

  “I’m sure they will be,” Kas said. “But it’s nothing we can’t handle.”

  “If you have never seen this bird, then how will we know what they look like?” Asta wondered.

  “I’ve seen drawings of them,” Kas said. “But also, I don’t think it will be hard to tell. They’re the only birds that live inside caves.”

  “Caves?” Asta’s eyes widened even further at this information. “When you said we needed to go to the caves, I presumed they lived in the mountains above them.”

  “No.” Kas shook her head. “Isn’t that strange? I once read they live in caves because they’re too large to live in trees.”

  “That would make sense,” I agreed. “They are massive, two hundred pounds easily.”

  “They sound like a formidable foe,” Asta noted.

  Blar shook his head then and strutted ahead of us, and he was clearly showing he wasn’t scared.

  “They’re nothing to be underestimated,” I said for both the elf girl and the little dragon in front of us.

  “I would think not,” Asta murmured as she chewed on her lower lip.

  The sun continued to set as we walked through the fields that led to the caves at the edge of the mountains. There were a few couples in the field when we’d first entered, but the closer we got to the caves the less people I noticed, and for the last half a mile or so I hadn’t seen anybody.

  It seemed we were the only ones willing to go anywhere near the Kingsbirds’ home, especially during mating season. Anyone who saw us would presume we had lost our minds, and maybe we had, but if this amulet could help Blar hone his abilities and get us to Helheim, then it would be worth it. Besides, the girls and I were no strangers when it came to combat. I’d watched them go up against the frost giants as well as the enemy tribe we’d come across the day before, and they had held their own.

  They weren’t the fiercest of fighters yet, but they were on their way. I practiced with them nearly every day, and they consistently showed improvement and focus.

  Eventually, I stopped behind the group to gather some sticks before we made it to the caves. We would need to light our way inside, and it would also be helpful if we could manage to blind the birds with the light.

  “What are you doing?” Asta asked.

  “We’ll need light,” I told her as I looked through the sticks.

  “I have light.” The elf girl smiled and held out her hand, which now emitted a ray of sunlight.

  I’d nearly forgotten Asta had that ability. Her nature powers hadn’t been utilized a whole lot since we’d found her because they weren’t very useful when it came to combat. This time, though, her sunlight would definitely come in handy, and we wouldn’t need to have the flames as I’d initially thought. She could easily light our way through the caves, and it would eliminate the danger that came with the flames if they got dropped. I knew Blar’s dragon fire wouldn’t burn me, but I wasn’t sure about the girls, and I didn’t want to take the risk.

  “That will be great,” I told Asta with a smile.

  “We’re almost there,” Kas announced.

  “Is there anything else we need to do before we go in?” Asta asked as she wrung her hands. “Is there anything I should know about these birds?

  “Not aside from what we’ve already told you,” Kas said.

  “We’ll be careful when we go in,” I told the elf girl.

  I wasn’t about to let anything happen to the girls. These birds might be vicious, but so was I, especially when it came to the ones I loved. We also had three small dragons on our side, and while they weren’t the most well-trained yet, they were still quite deadly. Between the six of us, I was sure we would be able to take out one of the birds no problem.

  The problem now would be finding them. The caves were extensive, and we would have to search around to find one of the birds. They typically lived in separate areas of the caves, since they weren’t pack animals, at least that’s what I’d heard at the taverns. The birds typically were alone, except for during mating season when the males would wander off to find a nearby female.

  I hoped we would be able to find one of them alone so it would be less of a threat, but I didn’t see that happening. I figured if we found one, we would probably find two since it was mating season.

  As much as mating season made things riskier, it could be beneficial for us as well. If we found the birds while they were in the act, that might make things a little easier for us, but I wasn’t going to count on it.

  “Alright,“ I said with a smile as we reached the caves. “Are you ready?”

  The caves were sunken into the side of the mountain, and there were large boulders and rocks all around them. The vegetation was limited in this area until further up on the mountain where the trees and grass made an appearance again. It seemed even nature didn’t want to be anywhere near these vicious birds.

  “I am ready,” Asta said with a sweet smile.

  “Ready,” Kas agreed.

  Blar squeezed my shoulder where he sat and nodded his head at me, ready to go into battle. Inger nodded her head as well from her spot on Asta’s shoulder, and Uffe looked at me and gave me a small smile to show he was prepared, too.

  I looked at my small group, and I knew they were as fierce as they came. None of them were as well trained as I was, and the dragons were new to fighting, but I knew they would be able to hold their own. Blar had been in several battles already, and he’d managed to take out every monster the council threw at him in the tournament. Even though the twins had yet to have to actually fight, I’d seen them during practice, and I knew they were more than capable of taking out an opponent.

  “Okay, let’s do this.” I took a deep breath and stepped into the cave with my crew behind me.

  The darkness hit quickly, but Asta immediately cast her sunlight and led the way. The inside of the cave was damp and earthy smelling, and the scent filled my nostrils as we made our way inside. I could feel the coolness around us, and it sent a shiver down my spine. Being underground wasn’t my favorite thing, but it was the only way to get one of these damn tail feathers unless we waited for the birds to go outside to hunt, which could take days. They were known to hunt large animals, but it would take them a few days to eat them. And since they were in the throes of mating season, I figured they might have other things on their minds besides food.

  As we ventured deeper into the dark, I stepped up so I was next to Asta. She might have the light, but I didn’t want her to be the first one to come into contact with one of the Kingsbirds. It was my responsibility to protect my small team at all costs, and I would make sure to do just that.

  R
amir hadn’t seemed concerned about sending Kas with me, and I felt like it was because he knew I would do whatever I could to make sure she was protected, even above myself. The same went for Asta, or Blar, or Inger and Uffe. I would quickly sacrifice my own life for the lives of the ones I loved.

  I knew a couple of hunters had managed to bag one of these birds over the past few years, though, so I figured we wouldn’t have too difficult of a time getting one for ourselves. I presumed they would put up a decent fight, but with the six of us, I hoped it wouldn’t last long.

  It was said the birds’ meat was worth the fight, too. It was considered a delicacy since it was not only so difficult to acquire, but apparently it fell off the bone and melted in the mouth in an incredible way.

  Occasionally, the vendors would have them in the marketplace, but usually those were birds that had been found already dead. The meat was still fresh enough to eat, but I couldn’t imagine it would taste as good as it would fresh. Still, I’d never tried it, the stuff was always too expensive for my blood. I rarely spent my money on food since I could easily make it myself, and at two silver coins for a single piece of meat, it never seemed worth it, no matter how good it was said to be. Once we managed to get this thing, I was rather looking forward to trying some for the first time.

  As we walked, I kept an eye on the ground. There were large bird prints carved into the stone floor everywhere, so we were definitely in the right place. I could tell they belonged to the Kingsbird, too, because they were unlike any prints I’d seen before. Three long finger-like things jutted out from one small stump in the back, and long talons expended out from the ends of the fingers and dug into the ground to make deep imprints.

  “Should we try and follow a set of prints?” Asta asked when she saw me looking at the ground.

  “There are too many to follow.” I shook my head. “We have to keep going and see what we can find.”

  The elf girl nodded, and we continued further into the cave. She kept her light coming out of her hand to illuminate our path, and soon we came to a fork in the cave system.

  “Which way should we go?” Kas asked.

  Blar sniffed the air, and then pointed his nose to the right.

  “Blar says right,” Asta said.

  “Then that’s the way we’ll go.” I shrugged.

  The little dragon pushed ahead, and we all followed him even deeper underground.

  The air was getting more humid as we walked, and it was getting colder as well. I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I instinctively gripped my sword tighter in my hand.

  Suddenly, a large bird lunged forward out of the shadows in front of us. It sprung forward off its long legs and tried to snap its beak at me, but I quickly stepped to the side and pushed the girls behind me.

  The beast skidded to a halt and turned around to face us, and it pawed at the ground for a moment before it charged us again. Once again, I sidestepped, but the damn thing was so quick I couldn’t even move my blade before it made its way over to us. It stopped again and turned to look at us, and I lifted my blade up so I would be ready for the next time it charged.

  Seeing it in the light was magnificent, though. I’d seen the pictures of the bird before, but I’d never seen one up close before. The Kingsbird was nearly as tall as I was, and most of that height was its legs. The thing’s giant body sat on top of the long scraggly legs underneath it, and long blue and green shimmery feathers fanned out behind it. Its face was made up of pure green feathers, and it had large yellow eyes that stared at us with a seemingly intelligent look.

  Something told me this creature was smarter than it was given credit for. I wondered if it was truly as dangerous as everyone said, or if it was only just defending its territory. Granted, the creature had just attacked us now, but we’d come into its cave in the hopes of getting a tail feather from it. We’d come into its territory, and I couldn’t blame it for wanting us to leave. The bird was huge, though, and since it had decided to attack us, I couldn’t allow it to get any closer than it already was. I might be curious about its intelligence, but I wasn’t stupid enough to think I could communicate with it and talk it down.

  I stepped forward with my sword drawn, ready for it to attack again, and as soon as it stomped its foot and ran toward me, I swung my blade at its neck. The Kingsbird was smart, though, and it dodged out of the way and had built up enough speed that it ran up the wall to our right. Then it stopped above us and dug its talons into the ceiling so it hung there, ready to strike again.

  Kas had her weapon drawn, too, and she held it out ready to assist however she could. Asta still had the sun casting out of one hand, but her sword was in the other hand. The little dragons were now all standing in front of me, too, and I could tell by their bared fangs they were ready to fight.

  Once the bird was above us, Blar flew up and shot a blue stream of fire at it, but the bird dove down at us and swooped to the side before we could make an attempt to attack it.

  “This thing is quick!” Kas exclaimed as she crouched further into her fighting stance.

  “We should spit up,” Asta suggested.

  I didn’t like the idea of it, but if we were going to get this thing, then it might be better if we weren’t all in a clump.

  “Blar, you and Kas go to the other side of the cave,” I instructed.

  The little blue dragon nodded, and he and Kas ran over to the other side so they were across from us.

  Kas was a brutal fighter, and with Blar on her side I didn’t think she would have anything to worry about. I was more concerned with Asta. The light elf was good with her sword, but she wasn’t quite as proficient of a warrior as Kas was yet, so if we needed to split up, then I preferred for Kas to be on the other team.

  I nodded to the strawberry-blonde across from me, and the next time the bird lunged at us, she and I both swung at it. She swung first, and the beast managed to dodge her swing, but my blade came down right after that and caught the bird right on its long neck.

  Its head came clean off and tumbled down the corridor of the cave as its massive body hit the ground with a loud thud.

  “Whew,” Kas said, and she wiped some sweat from her brow. “We got it.”

  “Was that one a boy or girl?” Asta asked.

  “I’m not sure how to tell.” I shook my head.

  “Uhhhh, I’m gonna say it was the female,” Kas said, but her voice was nervous.

  “Why do you think that?” I asked.

  “Because I’m pretty sure that’s the male,” the strawberry-blonde said in a low voice, and I turned to see an even larger bird further back in the corridor where the original bird had come from.

  I wasn’t exactly proficient at knowing Kingsbird facial expressions, but from what I could tell, the thing looked pissed.

  “Shittttt,” I breathed.

  This bird was significantly larger than the last one, and it let out an eardrum-shattering cry before it flapped its wings and fanned us with a huge gust of wind.

  “Hold your ground!” I shouted.

  We’d clearly just killed the beast’s mate, and it was out for blood. There was no escaping it at this point. The only way out of this was to take the second bird out as well.

  We only actually needed tail feathers from one of them, but it looked like Ramir was going to get a lot more than he’d asked for. I hadn’t a clue about the mating habits of these creatures, but something told me they were quite fond of their mates. I’d heard of some animals that were monogamous, living out their lives with only one mate, and if these birds were of similar practices, then we’d just made a mortal enemy.

  The creature let out another war cry before it ran at us full speed.

  Unlike the female version we’d just encountered, the male was a much better fighter. He dodged my slashes and flew up to shove his powerful legs out at me. The force of his kick sent me flying into the wall, but I jumped back up in time to see Blar fly up to the beast and breathe a massive amount of
fire right at it.

  The bird squealed in pain, but it didn’t give up. Instead, it continued to attack us, and it blindly scratched and kicked in our direction. It managed to get a few hits in, but Blar had blinded it with his fire, so I was able to sneak up behind it and land my sword in its skull.

  Blood splattered across my face, warm and sticky, and I looked up to see Asta and Kas both staring at me.

  “Are you alright?” Kas rushed over to me.

  “You hit the wall pretty hard,” Asta said with a worried look.

  “I’m fine,” I told the girls with a smile. And I was. I was more than fine, actually, I was excited to get these birds back to Ramir’s house and get the amulet made. I was also excited to get to cook them for the first time in my life. It wasn’t a bad evening by any means.

  Then another screech sounded, and it was clearly further back in the cave, though how far back exactly I couldn’t be sure.

  “It’s time to go,” I said as I looked at the girls. “Now!”

  I quickly picked up the birds, and then we started to run back out of the caves. The things were heavy, but I flung them over my shoulders and followed the girls outside, and we were bombarded with squawking the whole way.

  Just as we exited the cave, Asta turned around and shot a giant blast of sunlight into the cave.

  Blar saw what she was doing, and he and the other dragons joined in and breathed a huge amount of flame into the cave opening to deter the birds.

  The squawking intensified for a second, but then it stopped, and I smiled at the girls.

  “Well done,” I chuckled.

  “Well done yourself,” Kas laughed. “But I think it’s time we get you home and clean you up.”

  “You don’t like when I’m dirty?” I asked with a half-smile.

  “I didn’t say that exactly,” the strawberry-blonde said, and she winked at me.

  I adjusted the birds on my shoulder, and we started back toward home.

  “Do we need to take the whole bird?” Asta asked as she frowned at the carcasses on my shoulder. “I thought we only needed the tail feathers?”