Mages of the North: The Adventure Begins

Chapter 9

A smile grew on Floris' face as he finished testing a new poison on some of his rats. It had all the effects he was looking for and he was almost certain it would be more than enough for what he was intending to do with it. By using a mixture of the Rainbow Snake's venom, some Nightshade, and some of the venom from his Slithering Tree Serpent, he had created his most powerful poison to date. He had only one purpose for it but it was important for the safety of the village. He finished writing down his notes in his journal, then suited up in his armor and equipment, grabbed his weapons, and jolted to find Alvis.

Alvis was in the middle of helping another villager harvest the last Swamp Cherry bush. They were almost finished, but the task at hand couldn't wait any longer. As Floris approached, he called Alvis' name and tossed him a bow when Alvis looked at him. He looked down at the bow for a moment, then looked at Floris with a hint of confusion in his eyes.

Floris, still hiding his face behind his scarf, held his new poison up to Alvis could see, "It's time. That Swamp Eagle is too close to the village and I want to take it down before it has a chance to fight back. We're hunting big game today."

A hint of fear grew in Alvis' eyes and he stood up from his knees to address his friend, "Are you sure about this, Floris? This isn't exactly going to be an easy task; it's not going to be like taking down a Swamp Lizard. Any other animal in the swamp we've hunted before, so we know what to do. You've come up with the...uh...the...what did you call them?"

"Tactics." Floris said plainly.

"Yeah, those! You have the tactics for any other animal, but we've never faced down a Swamp Eagle before. We don't know how it'll act." Alvis said.

Floris put the poison he showed Alvis back in the look on his belt going across his chest, then looked at Alvis again, "I think the same tactics will work. This freak of nature hasn't eaten for weeks now, so it'll be needing to feed before long. You'll just hate to...run a lot faster with this one."

"Again. I'm the one doing the hard work. Why?" Alvis asked.

Floris rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "Fine. I'll run around like an idiot while you administer the poison I just created and go through the process of studying every animal, plant, and insect in the swamp; letting these deadly specimens infect you with their venom so you can understand it better. Sure, I'll be glad to do the 'hard' work for once."

Alvis silently stared at Floris with a fearful face but shook it off as he started laughing nervously and walked past Floris, "So, all I got to do is outrun a giant bird, right? With razor-sharp talons,wings that shake the trees, and a ferocious carnivorous appetite? Oh, this is going to be easy! What was I so worried about? This'll be no problem!"

Floris closed his eyes and smirked as Alvis walked by, "I'm glad you could see it my way." He then turned around and followed Alvis to where they last saw the Swamp Eagle.