CORMAC-
Adam wrote:CORMAC AND THE BIRD
"Aye, well, we've got some climbin' to do, I'd wager."
Cormac will take his time and climb as carefully as possible, taking whatever members of the band feel they can make the climb safely.
Both poachers and Dietric feel confident, so the whole little party attempts the climb.
...
The rocky spire proves more eroded and roughened upon close examination than it had appeared at a distance, especially so along the western face. Hardy vines and even small shrubs cling to the lower portions, near the treetops.
Cormac leads his band on the long upward climb, taking his time to locate the best holds.
...
Despite the frigid, whipping wind and the occasional crumbling spots of frost-wracked stone, Cormac and his bold men reach the top in good time; the sun has climbed on the other side of the spike to shine down from the pinnacle, like a firebird perched on the high crag.
One more pull, a short scramble up a narrow ledge, and Cormac finds himself standing in the mouth of the cave, which is broad and high enough to admit two men at a time if they stand close and crouch a bit. Deep shadow fills the gap; his eyes adjust to discern a shallow chamber with a pit piercing the center of the uneven floor. If there is a strong scent here, the wind blows it away. Faint wailing emanates from the cave, possibly coming from that pit; but the noise might only be an acoustical freak.
Dietric and the other two men clamber up to join Cormac on the ledge.
Hugging the rock wall, his face glistening with sweat, panting a little to catch his breath, Dietric peeks into the cave mouth and then turns his head toward Cormac. He raises his eyebrows and inclines his head towards the opening.
Cormac notices something moving on the rock face to his left; the elongated shadow of a man. He has only a moment to puzzle over the strange shadow when, in a burst of flapping wings and the bloodcurdling wail of a wounded stag, a winged fiend falls upon him from above the mysterious shadow! The monster resembles a gigantic eagle, but its head is that of a rabid, slobbering stag with
human eyes and blood-stained antlers. The horrid monster screams in fury, goring Cormac; the force of the attack throws him back into the cave mouth.
Cormac's friends try to fight the thing, hurling rocks, batting at it with their weapons, screaming curses as if those would help. The monster ignores them, diving into the cave,
seeking the druid!
Cormac fires arrows after arrow as the beast clumsily chases him about the cave, nearly sending him tumbling into the pit. His friends manage to push it back out just long enough for him to heal his wounds and conjure a swarm of wasps.
The monster, harassed by the flying insects, circles outside the cave, screaming loud enough to shake the stones. It flies away, loops up and back, and comes streaking towards the open cave mouth with its bloody anthers aimed straight at Cormac, who draws the last of his arrows and fires!
The arrow takes the monster in the breast just below the neck. It tumbles onto the narrow ledge outside the cave mouth amid a spray of blood and feathers. It scrabbles towards Cormac, eyes blazing with hate, and then slips backwards over the ledge with a final, prolonged shriek.
A weak voice calls from the depths of the pit, "Hello?"
...
Cormac and his men have rescued a woman and two small children, the captives of the 'evil bird.'
They also discover some treasure among the refuse and old bones in the cave!
Delight is to him- a far, far upward, and inward delight- who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self.
-from Moby Dick (Hermann Melville)
