Trickery #4
"I am confident that you will be able to calculate the locations from the information supplied," the genie continues, turning to leave and fading from sight. "I must simply leave you to it then, sphinx. Ensure that you perform these tasks admirably!"
And with that, he vanishes completely, leaving a glowing pair of crystalline eyes shining for just a second after his body ceases to be composed of earthly matter. Growling over the pristine, gleaming satchel, which seems out of place when compared to the situation afoot, you crouch low to the ground to inspect the scrawl text, which reads:
Required items for collection:
Three ruby eggs, found in the nests of harpies.
One gold key, guarded by the chimera.
One ornate hand mirror, last seen in the caves to the north.
Harpies? Chimera? Your stomach drops and you swallow the influx of bile that gathers in your mouth. What on earth is a chimera? Some creature from mythology? Surely that means it's not real? Hah... You realise all of a sudden that you are not so far in kind from the chimera. Either way, it is something that you will discover and face in due course. You must escape from this place...and the first step in that quest is to find these damn harpies and those eggs of theirs.
"Okay..." You murmur thoughtfully, falling prey to your old, human habit of speaking your thoughts aloud. "Where would harpies nest? What is feasible? Up in trees? Cliffs?"
You do not even know what harpies look like, but suspect that they are prone to the habits of birds, to a certain extent, if they 'nest' in some way. Sighing deeply once more, you roll the scroll up carefully and manoeuvre it into the satchel, dropping the heavy flap securely over the precious cargo. You will not have any idea where to go if you happen to lose the scroll. Sitting up, you crane your neck at a near impossible angle to see into the distance and, squinting, you pick out the straggly shapes of what could be trees, if the desert heat is not confusing your senses.
Written by Amethyst Mare on 02 July 2012