Terras Tales: The Traveler and the Bird

A story about a traveler, a bird, and a cozy cabin set in the world of Terras.

The Traveler ran across the road, her wariness of the area overrun by the desire to keep moving. Dressed in plain clothing with a headwrap soaked in cooling mixtures and carrying a large pack on her back full of supplies such as extra shoes and some consumables for faster travel, she was prepared to endure the roads. Horses were not comparable to the speed of a good traveler, nor were gama or drekers. Not for long distances, anyway. 

The route this particular Traveler had chosen the border between the Wilds and Mantios. Rumors had kept people away from it for many years, such as the story of people going in and coming back monsters and others showing up dead after vanishing near them. Many Travelers had also vanished along this path as well. It was a risk even if half the stories she had heard were false to say the least, but a risk she would take given what she had to do. 

The road itself was overgrown with disuse and animals grazed without fear of the Traveler hunting them. The wind was soft and almost cradled her as she jogged along the trail, as well, making her think this would be a great path to take any time she was in the area. The only thing that put her off was the almost palpable tension brought on by the dense wall of trees of the Wilds to her side. Light seemed to be blocked from entering the dark depths of the great forest and there was a constant feeling of being watched. 

The Traveler shivered, looking ahead and watching the faded road ahead of her very intently. She downed another leafrider and hastened her pace. The insect was awful tasting, of course, but it was the texture that always bothered her. 

"Huh?" She looked to the dense woods of the Wilds, listening carefully without slowing her pace. "Is someone there?" Aside from a bird that flew just ahead of her - a rather familiarly colorful one, at that - she saw no living thing in the Woods. Weird in it's own right usually, but not so much for the Wilds. The voice that had called out to her... It had sounded smart. Intentional. 

"You, girl!" 

The Traveler jumped, cursing as her pace slowed for a bit. She quickly pushed herself to make up the time before looking just ahead and focusing. That voice was definitely there but, once again, only that colorful bird was in view. It was a strange thing to see, really, but the possibility of someone being out there with her was more immediate of a concern.

"Who's there?"

"I am there. Here. In the tree." 

"I don't see you and I can't stop. Sorry." She still looked into the high branches from where the voice came. Nothing. Her eyes had been trained to watch the roads from a young age, but also to spot threats and potential customers as she journeyed as well. If there was someone up there, she was confident she would have seen them. 

"I can help. Make your trip faster. You are Traveler. I am helper." 

It was faint, but she could tell there was a whistle to the words. A way of talking that struck her as odd. Adding in the colorful bird and it's continued following of her and... "Are you... a bird?" It wasn't something she had ever heard from, but based on the sound and it's odd behavior that would be the natural conclusion. It didn't make sense, though. Not in the slightest. Only humans and the dragons of Garvoich could speak this language. Unless... A Mimic Raptor? They were supposed to live in the ocean, but could mimic words. She didn't know much else about them, though. Maybe this was a similar species?

"Bird, yes," the bird said, flying ahead once again to perch on a tree ahead of her. It was fast and, now that she was studying it, did seem familiar but she couldn't place it. "I can help. You need speed, yes? I have small things - lizards - that make speed when eaten." 

"Thank the paths... Wait, running lizards?" She frowned. Those were expensive, but... It could cut her travel time in half if the bird told the truth. And with every minute counting, that was a very tempting offer. She cursed softly and sped back up. The bird had slowed her again. "If you have some I can have, I'll take them." No time to question the absurdity of this bird's existence. 

"First, rest. Then lizards." The bird said in it's slightly whistling voice. It moved ahead once again. 

"Every minute I rest is a minute I could be running." Still, even if she did rest for an hour, the running lizards would still make the trip so much faster. And with so much on the line, is it worth the chance? Or is it better to take the safer route? Sooner would be better, but never was unacceptable. There was still a great chance this was a trap. "What is your price, any-" The Traveler caught herself after a minor stumble, resuming her pace. She was either getting sloppy or her leafrider was already wearing off. She had been moving for two days straight, after all. "What's your price?"

"Tales. Information. Conversation. Something to learn."

"Is that how you learned to talk?" 

"Yes. Travelers taught words. Still learning, so need more Travelers. More words."

She frowned, not getting a good feeling from this. But her slip up a moment before and her dwindling supply of leafriders, though enough, was still concerning. "Can you prove it? That you have the lizards?"

"Prove?" The bird began to fly beside her, though it kept a healthy distance. "Ah. Show. Yes. Ahead. Cabin is ahead. Small cabin for you. Big for me. Lizard is there. Dried. Ready to eat." 

Now that it flew close, the Traveler thought she could see a hint of desire in the bird's eyes. Her instincts were rarely wrong. She checked her satchel, ignoring the larger compartment with the leafriders. Did she have any..? Ah, yes, there they were: A small bit of firebug. Not a lot, but it would do. 

"It's just ahead on this road?"

"Yes. Over hill there. One... hour? No. Minute? No. Hour. Yes, hour. Less than hour." 

She looked around again, her pace quickening shortly after. "Not in the woods?"

"Woods?" The bird grew closer, so she edged away. "Ah. Forest. No. Built out of wood. Not in wood."

"No, I mean is it... Um... Is it in the shade?"

"No. In sun." It was the bird who sounded confused now.

"Alright, alright, fine. I'll be willing to take the lizards off your han- er, wings. I need about a half hour anyway, so you'll have me for that long." 

"Good. Yes. Meet you there." It sped up, easily outpacing her as it went over the hill and out of sight. 

Trusting her instincts, the Traveler downed two of her firebugs, the crunchy and gooey combination only helped by her concerns. It would be a waste if she didn't need it, but it would be too dangerous otherwise. 

Surely enough, the cabin was just over the hill. Cabin might have been generous, though. It was smaller than even the homes of landslaves and looked to be more of a shed for hunters. The structure, at least, seemed to be sound and it even had some fairly clear windows as well, but she could tell time had washed over it from the cracks in the windows and worn paint on the sides. 

The Traveler skidded to a stop right in front of the door and wasted no time opening it, the creaking loud as she pulled it open with a deep breath. She had half-expected a few bandits or something, but found the cabin to only hold two fairly plain beds of hay and a trunk that looked to have a broken lid. Those, and the bird that now sat in a hole in the wall. The Traveler noted the hole seemed to have been chewed through by some kind of animal but was actual close to a full circle. 

"So far you spoke true. The lizards?" 

"Box. In Bag. Teach soon."

She glanced back at the chest. "Maybe." Keeping the bird in sight, she stepped in and found the room to smell of cinnamon. Strongly so, too. She nearly backed out before she saw the sticks of the stuff in cups on the windows, similar to how taverns sometimes did for the sweaty customers fresh from laboring. 

The bird cocked his head. "Humans smell bad. Especially Travelers."

The Traveler pushed forward, ignoring her instincts, and began to search the chest. Sure enough, she found a satchel with some dried lizards in it. They weren't the biggest, but they were definitely running lizards. The spots were in all the right places. 

She started to leave but couldn't help herself. She looked over some of the other things in the box. Packs, bedrolls, extra boots, and other gear for traveling. It wasn't quite Traveler quality items, but they were definitely in decent condition. Why had they been left there?

"Teach soon." 

The Traveler looked up. The bird was closer now, sitting on the bed. "Yeah, what do you want to know?" The lizards would put a strain on her body. Better not to risk falling on the group short of her target from strain. Again. 

Taking a seat on the bed turned into falling as her legs gave out at the last moment, causing her to nearly fall back. She flinched for a moment, ready to head to the door, but shook her head to dispel the response. She had been traveling for two days straight. It was probably fatigue. She had hit thirty summers recently and the older Travelers warned her of the later toll of this life. 

"Anything. Information. Can be anything." The bird flew a bit closer, making a show of flapping it's wings as it nearly fell over. Something about the action was odd, but the Traveler couldn't place it. 

"Anything is a bit list. Sort of hard to give you something without an idea." She thought to herself. This whole situation was weird, but her mission was just all that more important. Her mind tried to search for something to tell the bird but kept coming up blank.

"Travel. Why?"

The Traveler blinked. "I don't know if... You know what? Why not." She leaned back for a moment, before straightening once more. The bed - and the sleep it enticed - threatened to envelope her if she let it. "I doubt it'll matter." The bird probably wasn't a spy. And even if it was, there was no way it could stop her. She had the firebug in her belly just in case even if it tried. 

"Have you heard of the Greebu Empire?" 

The bird cocked it's head, flapping a bit weirdly. Was it drunk or something? "Empire. Means group. Strong group. Big group. Yes?"

"I guess that's a close enough understanding." She set to putting up the lizards in her satchel, leaving one out for when she left. "Well, they are planning an invasion into Mantios, another place with lots of people, just not as strong." 

"Ah. War. Battle. Dangerous." 

The Traveler nodded. "I see you know what us humans do well. Yes, war. But maybe not. Not if it can be prevented."

"Prevented?" The bird stopped flapping and leaned forward. "Means?"

"Oh, uh... It means stop." When the bird gave a nod, she continued. At least she would have the most interesting story to tell later. Who talked with birds in this part of the world? And who had ever talked with one this articulate? "Well, the Empire uses these giant creatures they call golems in their army. Massive creatures that look like bulls made of rocks. Do you know what bulls are? Or maybe what a golem is?"

The bird screeched once and flew around the room once before landing. "Yes. Golems. Bad things. Destroy trees."

"I see you've met one," the Traveler said, laughing a little at the birds reaction. "Well, they have armies of them. It's sort of scary, really, and they are especially good at breaking things, like with your trees. So the Empire uses them to solidify it's power. But, they can be stopped if you know how."

"Stopped. How? Tell."

The Traveler chuckled a little, feeling her body relax more despite the situation. Maybe it was just having someone to talk to? "You just need to trap them. They aren't good at climbing, so digging a pit would work. That is, as long as you know to prepare. Empire's been better about hiding their movement these days, which is where I come in."

"To help. Tell others. Prepare?" 

"That's right. As long as Mantios can hold off the invasion for a bit, they stand a better chance at stopping this war before it can really begin. If not..." The Traveler frowned. "Well, I know well what happens when your home is a battlefield, regardless of who is invading."

The bird seemed to go quiet for a bit, almost like it was thinking, though it's gaze never left the Traveler. 

Well, it was creepy, but it was also a bird. She ignored the bright colored bird and leaned forward. "Well, I should be off. I appreciate your help and will have to stop back by with a gift or something. Maybe even with more to teach you about. Properly, that is."

She tried to stand, but found her legs had no strength.

"You're not done teaching me." The colorful bird's voice was different. Clear and even. No more broken words or screeches between words. Like it was being... S**t! "Nor will you be leaving."

The Traveler tried her legs again, jerking from side to side with her shoulders and causing her arms to swing around as well. Her stomach felt like it was dropping as she found her body responding to her less and less. She swallowed hard, unable to focus on anything but the ceiling that she found herself looking at and going over every detail of her journey into here. Searching. 

Then it hit her. The bird. It was familiar. She didn't know what Mimic Raptors looked like except that they were colorful so she had assumed... She had made a mistake. The reason it was familiar was because it was a Sweet Sleeper! But how did it learn to talk? It didn't make sense! No, don't worry about that. Look. Find a way out of this. 

Her eyes looked around, darting around to any and everything they could see while she still had control. Her neck, thank the paths, didn't seem to be paralyzed. She was probably too big for the Sleeper's poison to work completely. D****t, that was why it was flapping around! That's how it spread it! How could she be so dumb!

The bird hopped closer. Not close enough to her mouth, but close enough to grab if her hand still worked. It began to speak and she focused on every word, watching it as it crept closer to her hand. "The first one tasted bad."

First one? What did... "That's how you can talk," she whispered, her realization washing out her surprise that she still could talk. "You've been eating humans."

"The second one was a bit better." The bird leaned in close to her hand, suddenly looking more like some monster of demonic proportions than a mere bird. "But eventually I began to like the taste."

"I-If you let me go, I can..."

"I won't let you go. I've heard all the begging you humans like." It looked over at her, it's beak moving a little away from her hand as it did, thank the paths. "You humans kill each other to empower yourselves. I saw it from the fifth one as he killed others for the sparkled coins." 

"That's... Hey! No, look! It's true! But that doesn't make it right, right?" She couldn't keep her voice under control. She knew she sounded desperate. She was desperate! But the more she kept it talking, the longer she avoided that terrifying beak. "You don't have to be like them. You... You could be like me. Just a Traveler. No need to kill an-anyone!"

The bird leaned back down towards her hand. "I want to be human. So I must consume more humans." 

And then it began to eat. The first peck was just a sharp prick of pain, nothing she hadn't felt before from a trip or when she had cut herself skinning, but it fueled her scream as much as if it was a stab with a blade or a hammer slamming into her. 

But her scream was soon joined by the bird's, as flames spewed from her mouth and onto the bed, lighting it. The firebug! She couldn't help but feel some hope when the bird flew off to the corner of the room, leaving her now blood-soaked hand alone. 

"Hah! And there's more where that came from, you stupid bird!" She pulled on her arms, willing them to move and finding no response. "Just you wait! I'll cook and eat you when we're done here!" Come on! Move body! 

"Smart. But I enjoy cooked meals as well." The bird seemed content as it took place on the ledge of the cabin's window, waiting. 

Think! How did you get past a sweet sleeper's poison? 

The fire began to spread and she was once again distracted by pain - burning this time - on her arm. Okay, things were bad. But burns were better than being eaten... No it wasn't! The Traveler's breathing grew faster before abruptly stopping with a heavy cough. The smoke from the fire was already spreading. Was she going to die here? Her lungs burned as the smoke permeated the area more and fire crept closer. If only she could move...

Her arm twitched.

Hope flooded back into her as fast as realization did. She took a deep breath, not wasting time, and coughed heavily as the smoke threatened to shut her body down. But she didn't stop. She knew it might just kill her, but with every breath her body slowly began to move. The smoke was counteracting the poison!

"You'll never survive, human!" The bird had noticed too.

It felt like an eternity before she was able to pull her arm away from the fire and roll over to fall on the floor, her satchel falling on top of her. Her entire body hurt. Her lungs burned with every breath and cough, her head now pounded, her arm was a source of agony she couldn't help cry from, and the rest of her would probably be covered in bruises from the fall. 

But she was alive still! 

"Stop!" 

The Traveler rolled over in time to see the bird go for her eyes. She tried to swipe at it with her good arm, but the poison was still making her sluggish. 

"There's no escape," the bird called to her, taking another pass to head for her throat. 

She didn't think - there was no room with that through all the pain and coughing. The Traveler just reacted as the bird grew close. The taste of blood and bitter powder shot into her mouth as her teeth clenched onto the bird. She could feel the bird's feet cutting into her chin and neck, but her teeth were the deadlier weapon. There was one last screech before everything went quiet. 

The Traveler spit out the bird and focused on crawling. Her good arm and legs worked well enough to move her as she crawled, pulling and pushing herself out of the cabin with her satchel in tow. Her coughs threatened to stop her many times and her vision wavered more than once before the fresh air of freedom greeted her to the outside world once again. 

She didn't stop, though. The Traveler was good at her trade. She didn't stop short of her destination. And this time her destination was as far away from that cabin as her body would take her. 

That destination wasn't far. And it came when her consciousness left her. 

She would wake up ten hours later in the middle of the night and take care of her wounds. But she knew that she had failed. By then it was too late. Even when she at the running lizards and came to her original destination, she would find only the walled city a victim of the Empire's Golems. 

Tens of thousands died that day. All of which could have been prevented, if not for a single bird with a hunger. 

Author's Note

Another practice story. If it isn't obvious, I'm making my Terras Short Story series as a practice exercise. It won't be my best work (I'll make sure of that), but I hope it'll be productive for me and at least entertaining to you. Let me know what you think if you have feedback!