If Nel could sigh, she would. It was raining again. As far as she could tell, out of fourteen days, it had rained on every single one of them at least once. And days before that as well.
It wasn't just the feeling of the water running off her, or the way it pooled around her eyes before flowing out like tears. She got used to that. It was the way that the rain was so heavy it caused a misty fog to cover the area, meaning that passers-by, if there were any, would be less likely to spot her. Assuming that even on a sunny day they would look up.
Oh, and the fact her clothes had been soaked the whole fourteen days.
'Of course, it's all my own fault, isn't it. Strange noises, missing people in the mines... Should have saw this coming...
Of course, now unless it stood in front of her, she couldn't see anything... and that mist didn't help visibility much either.
'At least I'm on solid ground. If I was in muddier soil I'd have sunk in by now... And at least all the water seems to be heading downhill...
A drip managed to make its way down her back again. Her clothing was catching most of it but sometimes a drip from her hair went right down her back, a sudden wet feeling running down the only spot that had remained slightly dry through luck, and made her want to shiver.
'...Agh, I hate that. Still, I'm one to talk about downhill. This whole mess has been downhill since we came here...'
Fourteen Days Earlier
Nel sighed. At this point in time, she was capable of it.
"Alright, so, let's look this over again. The two of us, experienced and skilled members of the Crimson Blades... haven't found a damn thing in these mines at all." She said.
"That's pretty much it..." Clair nodded.
"No sign of any missing miners, not even hearing the noises reported, and all we did find was this shaft leading out to a small cliff ledge... That seems to be right above the entrance for some reason."
"Apparently it's some sort of ventilation thing."
Nel wiped a hand across her brow, dislodging some rainwater that had been flowing down, and then shaking her head to dry off her hair slightly. It made little difference. The light drizzle would just cause her hair to get wet again and then more water would annoy her...
"Why are we standing out here just now, then?"
Clair shrugged.
"Enjoying the view?"
Nel glanced at the fog and mist, that meant nothing was remotely visible past the edge of the small ledge.
"Hardly. Let's go back inside and try again, will we?" She said.
Clair nodded, and the two began to head inside... Only to hear an eerie wail. The screech made Nel shudder... and then she gasped. Her anti-paralysis amulet felt warm, a tell-tale sign it was being used. The screech had a paralysing effect.
She was immune.
A glance to her side made it clear Clair was not. She had apparently been concerned about poison, for the other woman carried only an anti-poison amulet.
Nel however, had two amulets. And if she had the right theory as to what was attacking, they were the right ones.
She span around, to see, as expected, a very startled baby Cockatrice.
Unlike the adults, the babies could not petrify with a breath, nor summon a rockfall that could also run the occasional risk of somehow petrifying a victim, but they could make a loud screech. A screech that depending on the pitch, would attract a bigger cockatrice, or paralyse most things that heard it up close.
The screech it used was to paralyse. It was just the "baby" and her, and her paralysed friend. No mama Cockatrice was coming... yet.
Judging from it being about her height, this "baby" was closer to a teenager, allowed to go out and patrol the nesting area. Apart from the various attacks they had, Nel only recalled that Cockatrices petrified their victims and arranged them around their nests to scare off predators... or attract human bandits who wanted to plunder the unfortunate souls left as a granite "danger" sign.
Oh, that was a lie. She remembered the little one would try to peck her and Clair to petrify them. Well, she'd see about that. If she could keep Clair safe, serving as a human shield given her immunity to petrification granted by her amulets, she could have her ally back in about five minutes and then the cockatrice would flee. The adolescent ones were usually too prideful to call for help and so they'd run away instead...
And lead them to the nest. And to the missing miners.
It had been a good plan, she thought, as the cockatrice lunged. The beak couldn't petrify her, but the amulet had a less than advertised downside. It didn't apply to things you wore. Only metal was truly safe from a cockatrice.
As proven when the peck clipped the front of her skirt, making two little circles of stone that quickly crumbled, making the two holes look like acid had burned them open.
Nel swung her blade, narrowly missing the bird's head, but her glove clipped the beak. A chunk of it fell off.
Then to her shock, it jumped at her. Claws scratched at her, tearing her leggings, and forcing her to parry and wrestle it off. She had been pinned by the creature for a moment, and with a growl she kicked it away...
Right towards Clair, still paralysed. It knocked her down on the way and she hit the ground with a soft thud, making Nel wince slightly. The Cockatrice rolled, and seeing an easy target, took it before Nel could react. The unfortunate woman became a statue on her back.
"Damn it! Sorry, Clair..." Nel cursed.
The Cockatrice lunged, and tackled her again. She stood on her feet quickly, spinning to try and attack, only for the beak to strike out and hit her on the leg.
And to her shock, not given time to manifest on her face, it affected her.
'W...What?! How did that...' She thought frantically. And then she saw. The Cockatrice stood up, and tangled in his claws, her amulets. Both of them.
'...Oh. That isn't good.'
The bird seemed a little dazed from the roll, but as it stood, it seemed to jump for joy, preening it's feathers in victory...
Only for a crash of thunder to make it jump into the air.
Right off the edge of the small ledge.
The screech it made as it flapped uselessly on the way down was the one to summon an adult. Fortunately, it was going to go down to where the creature had landed. From the noise, the bird had landed alive, possibly injured...
...but something occurred to Nel. The birds had to find them and take them into the lair. Another search team would come after them, and though being outside the nest did increase their odds of being found in that a search team might head up here, it decreased them in that the ledge was hard to see and they had only found the way up to it by accident.
Also, any further search groups would likely guess Cockatrice like they should have, and head deeper in, not higher up...
A crash of thunder broke Nel from reflecting on past events, bringing her back to harsh, and still wet, reality.
'It's been about fourteen days by my count... Wonder if another team has came yet.'
She pondered this for a moment, only to hear a welcome noise.
"...Lady Clair!" A shrill voice cried.
"And Lady Nel as well!" Another.
If she could smile, Nel would. Tynave and Farleen.... Even if the latter of her subordinates had a voice that was almost as paralysing as a baby cockatrice at times, she knew she could rely on them.
"Okay, now where did I put that sage..." Farleen said, only for Tynave to interrupt whatever she was doing.
"Whoa! Don't turn Lady Clair back yet! Look at her!"
"...Oh, I guess we should stand her up first. Wait, is she damaged?! Did she fall over?!"
Tynave sighed.
"Yes, she fell, but it seems she's not harmed. But her mouth is open... and it's raining. What do you see?"
Farleen seemed to pause.
"...Ah. I guess we need to drain her first..."
Nel suddenly felt glad she only had the sensation of rain pooling in her eyes.
"...Uh, Tynave, there's a frog in there..."
...Very glad.
Tynave sighed.
"...Turn Lady Nel back so she can help us..."