Travels with a Yellow Bird Part 1: The Escape and a Prisoner

We of Great Auk had fought many nations in our time, the Taft, the Sikes, and a dozen more. When I was a child our traders began hear tell of armies massing in the west across the great sea. The refugees came at first in a trickle and then in a flood. They brought with them stories of fierce warriors, of maneaters, of monsters. Our king was confident in our might, unchallenged for almost a generation. If these invaders came, they would be turned back as the tide on the sand. Our king was a fool.


They first landed on our shores on a moonless night ten years ago, the Dragoon. They took the outer islands so quickly nary a spear was raised against them. Great iron ships blockaded the harbor at the capital of Ave. Fierce warriors clad in black armor marched and slanked and slithered upon every part of the countryside.

Now our cities lie in ruins, our women are slain and our young men carried off to god knows where while we huddle in mountain caves like animals. But even now we hold onto hope, for the yellow bird came a year ago to bring us a gift. The gift was a promise of victory, a prize that waited far across the sea.

Today we make for the capital, to steal one of the iron ships to begin our journey. Ten men, one woman, and the yellow bird called Flit.

"Eeeh, how many times do I have to tell you scribe boy I am not a bird? I am a proud harpy of the land of Jiro!" Flit ruffles her feathers in annoyance. She fluffs up and looks an awful lot like a fat owl. It's a striking contrast to here usual shapely preening self.

"Harpies are just stories. In those stories they are dumb as a rock anyway." I mutter.

Flit makes a face. "It's almost dawn. Let's just get started. There are three ships that I think we could take that I saw when I flew over. The first is a military destroyer in drydock. It has good guns and few guards but some of the equipment might be broken and we'll make a hell of a lot of noise getting out. BIG firefight!" She spreads her wings for emphasis.

"The second is a trader ship: no guards, small crew but big and slow and unarmed. Still quietest and safest way out." Flit coos the last part. "Our last option is one of the patrol clippers at the customs dock. Fastest ship, some armor and guns. Lots of guards, but if we can take it quietly nothing should be able to catch us."

>Which ship do you go for and how?


We agree that speed will be critical to this trip. The sooner we get back with the secret weapon, the better the odds are our people will survive. My father only gives our enclave another year or so before everyone will be rooted out and killed. Flit agrees to the plan with little fuss and to distract the guards away while we took the ship.

Flit looks over her shoulder as she began to flap away into the dark "Don't leave without me scribe boy." Her eyes picks up a strange light. "Don't forget I get first pick for quarters."

The rest of us make our way carefully through the deserted streets and ruined houses of the city. I only see light coming from the old castle accompanied by the sound of laughter and screams. I shudder and turn toward the docks, scrambling over the broken stones. The noise of the gentle harbor waves masks our footsteps as we near the water.

A great noise erupts from the far end of the marina. There's shouting and the smell of burning pitch wafts heavily in the air. Soon a red light begins to cast shadows across the docks. The destroyer in the drydock was ablaze! Alarm bells begin to ring throughout the city.

"Nice going Flit!" I had to resist the urge to shout.

The two guards left by the patrol boats are transfixed by the pyre as more boats catch fire. We sneak by them quietly, raise the anchor and cast off the lines. Just as the boat is clearing the dock I hear the clomping of metal boots. One guard has noticed us and is making for the boat! She tries to jump but her heavy armor weighs her down. There's a large splash as she falls. I look over the side to find her holding tenaciously to a loose rope. Her grip is slipping and her armor is waterlogging.

>Haul her up
>Cut the rope
>Something else


I try to haul her up but the weight of all the armor and water is too much for me. Stan, a big Auk in our party, sees me struggling and together we muscle the soaked guard onto the deck where she crashes into a heap with a loud clatter. Coughing and sputtering, she removes her helmet and I'm greeted by a single fierce bright red eye and emerald green scales. A large scar runs across a ruined eye and a face that was still quite pleasant. Her expression was anything but.

"Lizarda." Flit's voice calls down coldly from the crow's nest. She must have returned while we were pulling up the guard.

"That's Elsa to you canary." the guard spits. She looks over the crew and her gaze seems to linger, appraising each man. She stops when her eye meets mine. I stand dumbfounded. It's the first time I've ever seen a living 'goon's face.

"I'd hoped I would be defeated in a more glorious battle by someone..." She peters off and her gaze seems to pierce through me.

We've nearly escaped the harbor. The fire lights up the sky behind us, dark and stars before us. There's no sign of pursuit and the wind is behind us. It's clear sailing for now.

Flit drops down to the deck lightly. She stands in front of me, blocking Elsa from my sight. "You should disarm her and lock her up somewhere quiet." She whispers. "These ships have a small brig. We need her out of the way. Then come to the Captain's quarters. We need to plan for what's next" I nod numbly and motion to Elsa. She presents her sword in the noble's surrender and lets her wrists be bound in ropes. I lead her down into the brig with Stan close behind. Her armor makes squishy clanking sounds as she walks. We lock her in the tiny cell where I free her bonds. She slowly works out of her armor and I have Stan take it to our own lady for a disguise. She sits there shivering in her cotton underarmor, cloth sticking to her brilliant green scales shining softly in the lantern light.

>Talk to her
>Leave a guard and meet Flit
>Other

Looking at this monster, this enemy that has taken my homeland, I can still only pity Elsa in such a state. I remove my black longcoat that helped camouflage me in the city and thrust it through the bars.

"You'll be our guest for awhile. You should at least be comfortable."

Elsa's tail twitches and curls around her thigh as she gets up and takes the coat from me. Her cold scaly fingers brush mine and begin to tremble. She turns her back to me quickly and wraps herself in the heavy wool of the coat. I almost swore I heard a soft "thank you" while I called a man to guard her before I headed to the Captain's quarters.

The quarters are small for even this small ship. A table laid out with sea charts dominates the space with a small bed built into the back wall and a couple of trunks for storage. Flit lays outstretched on the bed. She jumps with a start when she hears me enter. A couple bits of fluff float down to the floor as she straightens her disheveled golden feathers on the wings framing her modest perky chest held in a tight top. It still didn't do a thing for her messy short blonde hair.

"Nice distraction." I start.

"Of course." Flit preens, almost glowing at the praise. "Who do you think I am? I lived with your family for a whole year preparing for this. You should know I'm no birdbrain." She bobs closer, so close I can feel her breath and smell the faint smell of smoke from the fire. "As our leader you will be taking the Captain's room for the journey won't you?"

"Ye-yeah, sure." It wasn't exactly what I was expecting to hear.

Flit grins and walks to the charts on the table. "We'll need supplies first thing. This little ship isn't stocked for a long journey." She fumbles with the paperweights to lay out a map for an archipelago just beyond the old Auk outer islands. Flit yanks a secondary feather out of her wing and dips it carefully in an inkwell. "There are two major islands that will have supplies out here. Both will be guarded."

"The first is here at Limus, the second is a days travel further at Serpens." Flit scratches her nose, spreading an ink blotch on her smooth white face. "That will guarantee us munitions and spare parts but we'll need to steal them from the garrison. If we just want food and water we can always try one of the depopulated islands out here in the wastes, like Vermi."

I turn over the possibilities in my mind. There's no way to make a sound decision before accounting for all the supplies we currently have.

Flit as always feels like she is one step ahead of me. "You should sleep on it, scribe boy. We won't need to make a decision until tomorrow." She places her feather in the inkwell. "I will be staying here with you to protect you. You are the least hopless of this bunch. We can't afford to lose you."

"What?" I'm floored by her casual breaking of one of the three rules my father laid down when we began this quest.

Flit looks down nervously. "Oh calm down. I'm just a yellow bird to you right? What's the harm in sharing your room with a bird like me?"

>You have 1 short battle worth of munitions
>5 days worth of food
>no spare parts

>Visit Elsa in the night to talk
>Cuddle with Flit
>Other

Secondly
>Decide which island to resupply at

I tell Flit that arrangement will be alright though I still feel a little uneasy as I excuse myself to gather information from Elsa alone. Flit looks relieved and promptly begins turning the sheets of the bed into a nest in what I can only imagine is some kind of irresistible instinct. I walk along the dim hallways of the ship and my feet rock beneath me. I'm beginning to get used to it. If only the rest of the crew was as lucky. Even near the brig I can hear at least one person retching above deck.

Our sole human lady, Jenna, is guarding Elsa when I get there. She puts a hand on my shoulder as I relieve her from her post "Watch yourself princeling. They say some of these creatures can cast a spell over men. And there's far too few left like me to stop you all if you start to turn."

Elsa huddles in the corner of her cell, a dark lump of coat with red hair and green scales sticking out. After Jenna leaves she watches me warily.

I try to give her a winning smile and fall short of the mark. "Elsa, we're going to need your help if we're going to get through this. I need some information you have. I need you to share it with me." I look her in the eye. "I don't want to hurt your comrades. I just need some supplies for our journey. You know I could have left you as well. You know I don't want needless death."

Seconds of silence pass. Elsa seems to consider for a long moment before speaking slowly. "I may be an old Secondarius Lizarda but I am still a Dragoon. There is only one thing you could offer me." Her good eye blazed. "I want a fight."

Her fervor took me aback. "What kind of fight."

She grinned, her scar twisting it into a sneer. "A fight against you, one on one. Set me free or let me die a warrior's death. There is nothing else I want that doesn't start there."

"I'm not a great swordsman" I offer.

"It has to be you. Ask me the questions and I shall write down the answers as I know them. Your crew will get them either way." She was pulsing with anticipation.

I needed to make a decision. "Elsa, in good faith, first I need you to tell me about the garrison on Serpens."

Elsa was getting caught up in her bloodlust or lust, I wasn't sure as her arms gripped the cell bars and her muscles bulged. Her whole body pressed against the cell door. "They can see heat like light." she whispered huskily. "Darkness will not aid your attack against them. Beware the trees. Now ask your questions and fight me hero."

>Ask your questions
>Will you really fight the Lizardgirl? What is your strategy?