The cool breeze washed through Vikrams beard, the sun high in the sky, yet unoppressive like the deserts he was accustomed to. Solaria had truly blessed this day with grace and beauty. The sand brushed softly through his toes like a blanket of fine silk. A trip to Crescent Isle was a regrettable vacation choice. The rolling of the waves on the cargo ship that brought him here was still nauseating him. Regardless, the locals had been friendly and accommodating with his arrival. A friendly in town had even suggested this spot for a leisurely stroll, and he had to admit it was quite relaxing. 

    A loud screech pierced the air. The woman had said there was a harpy eagle nest near here, and not to worry about it. A few minutes passed as Vikram continued his stroll and another long screech echoed across the dune. Maybe this wasn't going to be as relaxing as he envisioned. A few moments later, a young lad of about ten could be seen running towards him, away from a small crag of stone jutting out near the ocean.

    Kids, always playing in sand no matter where on Charon he travelled. Though this one seemed to be running with a significant amount of gusto. Vikram gave a friendly wave towards him, only to get a better look as he approached. Three long slashes across the child's chest. Talons.

The Crescent Isle had proven a wonderful place to lie low for a while. Morrigan was under a bit of hot water back home, and as such, had decided to take respite while the drama back home in Zeinav boiled over. Morrigan found they rather enjoyed the Crescent Isles, though- the food and drink had been more than enjoyable, and the people were easy to please. All it took was a few well-placed tricks and Morrigan had the people of the Isles eating out of the palm of their hand.

Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks with posing as a great and powerful mage that could solve any problem in the realm meant that people actually expected them to, you know, solve their problems. And thus, Morrigan was tearfully asked one morning by a local to take care of the pesky harpy problem that had been disrupting trade.

And how could Morrigan say no?

The tiefling took to the beach, petulantly kicking at the sands while they bemoaned their fate. It wasn’t as if Morrigan actually possessed the ability to dispose of the harpies with the flick of a finger! They resolved to just swing their sickle at a few of them and call it a day, and tell the villagers that the harpies were too powerful for them to take care of. At least the view would be nice. While Morrigan heard that harpies had horrifying avian bodies, their faces were supposed to be quite pleasant to look at…

Morrigan was contemplating the benefits and drawbacks of trying to woo such a beautiful and ferocious creature when they heard the child’s scream.

Morrigan turned just as the child ran up to a man walking along the beach, bleeding profusely from a wound on their chest. Morrigan grabbed a round glass bottle from their pouch, careful as to not disturb the glass resting inside, and made their way over to where the child had approached the man.

They broke into a jog, potion in hand. It was lucky they’d made a batch of the elixir this morning. As they got closer, Morrigan raised their voice and called, “Everyone stand back! I can heal this child!”

    Panic reigned through him. Adult casualties were part and parcel for most adventurer's line of work, but children were another matter altogether. A shout nearby, someone had a remedy? He looked and saw a short, immaculately dressed Tiefling jogging towards the scene with a small potion in hand. Thank goodness he thought, a healer. There was little the old man could do to avert grievous injuries like these. Bandages and prayers was largely the extent of his abilities.

"How fortunate is your arrival! Please, hes been hurt."

    Vikram took hold of the boy, carrying him over to their rescue. He staunched whatever bleeding was left as the potion wielder prepared the elixir. The child cried in pain as he pressed into the wound, a twang of guilt and fear still burrowed in Vikram's mind.

"Child, be still. What has done this to you, Eagles? A cat?"

    Still crying, the young one offered little in the way of information while his injury was still present. The large, bearded man could ill imagine what sort of predator would do this. Specifically, ones that would injure a party and let it escape. A tiger would have given hard chase or disabled its prey quickly rather than wound it. Perhaps it was distracted by other people?

Morrigan hurriedly administered the potion- the vial contained a swirling liquid that almost seemed to sparkle like the cosmos in the light. As the other man held his hands to the wound, keeping pressure on it, Morrigan pressed the vial to the child’s mouth, carefully tilting it as not to pour too much and choke the child.

Before their eyes, the scratches on the child’s chest began to stitch themselves up.^[1] The wounds were too deep to heal completely, not with what Morrigan had on hand, but it would stop the blood flow enough to get the child to a true healer. As the child’s skin regained color, slowly regaining a bit of consciousness, Morrigan slumped over, relieved that they had arrived just in time.

I wonder if it would be a good time to inquire about payment for my services…? No, it wouldn’t be appropriate. Maybe later.

Morrigan stood, dusting off their long coat. “It appears this child has been made victim of the harpies plaguing these isles. I have been sent to dispose of them, and from the looks of it, not a moment too soon.” As they turned to the human that had rushed to the child’s aid, an idea formed in their mind. He was dressed in garb common of Zeinav natives- a wonderful coincidence. Luck must have been on Morrigan’s side today to encounter someone who looked like they could handle himself, and from Morrigan’s own country, no less. Their tail flicked as they stood there, deep in thought.

“You seem like a properly concerned citizen. This harpy infestation has been plaguing the Isles for some time now. How would you like to join forces with me, Morrigan Moonweaver-” They paused, waiting for any semblance of recognition at the name- “To rid the beach of these monsters?”

---

1. Minor Health Potion

    Moonweaver....The name rang a bell. Regardless there were more important matters to attend to. Harpies, of course. While Vikram had never personally fought creatures such as them before, he knew a small amount of information. Twisted abominations, half man half bird creatures cursed by Avasha by what his old mentor told him. He would repay their cruelty tenfold.

"At once, Moonweaver! I, Vikram shall personally see to the eradication of those creatures that inflict such cruelty. I must thank you for your assistance, the child would certainly be worse off if not for your quick action."

    His hand held in a fist to his heart, he gave a full bow to the Tiefling. Standing back up full, Vikram withdrew his scimitar from its silken sheath on the back of his robes. Its steel shone in the cool sunlight, its golden hilt catching rays like sparkles of dew on a calm morning. Holding it aloft, he bellowed to the sparse beachgoers as a local woman carried the child away.

"Hear this, one and all. I will assist this man in his efforts to free you from bird person tyranny. By dusk tonight, no harpy shall scour this shoreline again!"

    And with that, Vikram shuffled off, into the direction the child originally ran from. Determination and confidence oozed from his stern jog into the distance.

Well, that had been easier than Morrigan expected.

As the human, Vikram, charged off after his bold declaration in the direction of the craggy rock outcroppings, Morrigan pulled out their own weapon. A sickle was a curious choice for someone of the desert, as the farming tool was impractical in Zeinav, but Morrigan was not a person who often made sense. Although, the choice made sense as Morrigan pulled out another elixir from their bag, uncorking it with a flick of their thumb.

This particular vial was filled with a lavender liquid that reeked of rot and decay when exposed to the air.^[1] Morrigan applied the elixir to the outer side of the curved blade, giving it an experimental twirl in their hands. The tiefling may not have been versed in fighting, and contrary to what they claimed, they had no talent for magic, either, but where they lacked in those areas, they excelled in potions. Any harpy that made contact with this poison would find their flesh eaten away, as if by a parasitic bacteria that festered in the wound.

It was all just as well. With any luck, this Vikram would do most of the work, and Morrigan would take all of the credit. And then, the people of the Crescent Isles would know Morrigan’s name.

It was a win-win scenario!

With a devious smile plastered on their face, Morrigan raised their sickle in the air, raising their voice so all the nervous spectators could hear. “Be not afraid, people of the coasts! I, the Wizard of the Wastes, have sworn to eliminate these cruel harpies once and for all, with my associate, Master…” What was his name again? Morrigan had just heard it seconds ago… “Vikram!”

When they received curious stares instead of raucous applause, Morrigan shrugged. “Tough crowd.” They commented before turning on their heel and following after Master Vikram, who had broken out into a run to reach the place where the harpies were terrorizing beachgoers, scimitar raised in the air.

It would be fine, Morrigan thought to themselves. After all, how dangerous could harpies really be?

---

1. Parasite Poison

    Fair to medium dangerousness, as it turned out. Shortly after arriving at the rocky crag the scene unfurled itself before them. Four Harpy women, one slightly larger and uglier than the rest, all harassing a pair of island dwellers. Their sharp talons dripping with blood as screeches echoed throughout the rocky clearing. The islanders weren't faring too well, with deep claw marks etching their forearms from their defense of the onslaught. The large harpy womans head turned as the two arrived, weapons hoisted high. She screeched, and her cohorts quickly changed targets.

    As the harpy minions charged, their leader grasped one of the islanders in her enlarged talons and hoisted the woman to a roost in a nearby outcrop on the rock.

"Have at thee, you fiendish bird creatures! Let that woman go!"

Vikram slashed down at the first harpy to approach. It crashed to the ground while letting out a pained screech. Its claws raked out as it thrashed about on the ground and caught on Vikram's robe, tearing it a bit. The look on his face turned from stern to angry as a trickle of blood flowed down his leg into the sand.

"Blasted harpy women, stay back!"

The safety of the civilians was the priority concern for him. With the harpy on the ground before him briefly incapacitated as it found its footing, Vikram rushed past the two others that advanced to make his stand by the second islander left on the ground. 

"Can you stand my friend?"
"Please, help us, my wife!"
"We will, Morrigan and I will protect you with all we have, even if it costs us our lives"

It was said in a reassuring manner to the islander, but the end was a threat directed to the three harpies still circling the clearing.

Morrigan had just arrived at the clearing barely a second after Vikram just in time to hear the human loudly proclaim,

“We will, Morrigan and I will protect you with all we have, even if it costs us our lives."

And the tiefling came to an abrupt halt. Giving my life? I never signed up to be a martyr! They didn’t have time to voice these thoughts, however, as the charlatan was soon faced with three great, ugly, winged beasts, the likes of which they had never seen before, with blood-stained talons and faces contorted in an animalistic rage that looked uncanny on a face that resembled a human’s. This time, Morrigan was unable to stop their outburst in time.

“That’s what a harpy looks like?” They demanded, nearly dropping their sickle in shock. The villager that Vikram was helping up gave the tiefling an incredulous look, and Morrigan awkwardly coughed into their hand before putting a dazzling smile on their face. “I mean, of course I know what a harpy looks like! I’m simply more accustomed to dealing with the more dangerous variety commonly found back home in Zeinav. These are like child’s play to me!” The tiefling boasted.

Their inner monologue, on the other hand, told a completely different story.

The truth was, Morrigan had never fought a monster in their life.

Vikram was already taking care of the monsters, but there were several more swarming the beast, and another on a nearby rock outcropping was struggling with a frantic, screaming human woman. Which meant that Morrigan would actually have to intervene.

The tiefling raised their sickle and charged forth, running up the side of a rock jutting from the sand at an incline. With a running leap, they threw themselves onto the back of one of the harpies, wrapping one arm around her neck. The great beast screeched, thrashing about every which way in an attempt to rid herself of her unwanted passenger.

“Whoa!”

Morrigan flailed, more akin to a dead fish than an elegant, powerful mage. They blindly slung their sickle with their free arm, dragging the long end of the blade across a wing. The poison ate at the harpy’s flesh, rendering the wing useless. The harpy screeched- without use of her second wing, she immediately crashed to the ground, taking Morrigan with her.

The tiefling was immediately rewarded with a mouthful of sand and feathers for their trouble.

They rolled over, spitting the sand onto the ground.

    The other two closer to the ground approached, flanking Vikram and the bystander on both sides. One was a bit slower recovering from his first strike. He held a hand back towards the islander, trying to keep them calm and out of the fight, and he held his sword up to the attackers with the other. The one on the left flapped her wings and thrust herself forward, claws extended. Vikram turned and slashed out, A good horizontal slice threw her to the ground with a crash, and a stab through the chest finished her off.

    His back muscles screamed as the second on slashed at him across the back, leaving long and bloody gouges in his robes. He swung his sword around by reaction and the Woefully Wacky Winged Woman dodged expertly and lunged again. Now on defense, he maneuvered himself to be back between his attacker and the islander cowering behind him.

    All through this there was only one thing on his mind. There were more dangerous versions of these creatures in Zeinav?! He had made his career hunting monsters in the desert and had never come across such beings. If that were the case, they must truly be exceedingly dangerous indeed, apparent masters of deception and covering their tracks as to not be discovered. Maybe their precise explained several missing persons cases of those that had wandered the white sand sea. Such a threat must be dealt with immediately after the present circumstances had resolved.

    "Moonweaver, there is no time for sleeping in the sand! Rise, so that these monsters haven't the chance to terrorize again! You say you have fought such creatures before, I admit I have not. What is their weakness?!"

Morrigan pulled themselves into a sitting position, picking up their sickle where it dropped a few feet away. The harpy with the useless wing struggled to get up, unable to move very far with a mangled limb. Morrigan quickly dispatched her, leaving them one less harpy to deal with- and one more left to go, one that had gotten a nasty hit on Vikram.

“These winged women are not as pleasant as I thought they’d be.” Morrigan mumbled to themselves just as Vikram called out, asking for a weakness.

Now, any sane person might have come clean at that moment. Lives were at stake, and any careless slip of the tongue might mean the difference between their life and death. But Morrigan Moonweaver, as history had proven, was not an especially rational person. Madam Medb’s training in the way of the charlatan had been ingrained in them long ago, and the promise of reward and glory was too great to ignore.

And so Morrigan dug themselves into a deeper hole as they picked up their sickle, waving it wildly into the air in an attempt to hit her with the corrosive poison that still coated her blade. But she pulled herself into the air just out of their reach. Thinking on their feet, they searched for something that would serve as a convincing enough lie.

“Their weakness is…” Morrigan scrambled for something, anything, “A handsome male bird, of course! They are easily distracted by avians of the opposite gender- they simply can’t resist chasing after them, giving their enemy an opportunity to strike!”

This was, perhaps, one of the dumbest lies that Morrigan had ever come up with, but it was not as if Vikram could disprove that fact!

Morrigan took another swing at the harpy and missed, growing frustrated at their own short stature. The harpy screeched, slashing her claws directly at Morrigan’s face. They hastily ducked out of the way, parrying the claw with their sickle before the hit could land. “Hey there, not the money maker, you foul beast!”

    Of course, how could he be so blind. The only answer to Woefully Wacky Winged Women, Was Monstrously Magnificent Macaw Men. The Macaw of course being the most flamboyant bird Vikram was aware of, Avasha excepted of course. It was always a possibility the gods could see his thoughts, better safe than sorry. It was time to make the ultimate sacrifice. Vikrams hand grasped at a silvery bauble close to the center of his chest, disappearing into a large green and red puff of mist. It temporarily dazzled the harpy before him, confused as to where her prey had disappeared to. It only took a second for the Harpy to become distracted, focusing her sights on the villager behind him.

    It was in those moments that A green wing reached out from the mist, barring the woman's path. He was about half his original size, With brilliant green plumage and a curved black beak. The feathers framing his face and eyes transitioned from a brilliant red to a dazzling white. He met the bewildered harpy's gaze, staring deep.

"Caw."

    He took off, swirling around the sandy clearing only slightly above all of their heads. The rare Vikratoria Giant Parrot of Cresent Isle swooped past the rock ledge that the matriarch harpy nested, harassing the islander's wife, plumage on full display. 

"CAW!"

    The Harmatriarch spread her wings and launched into the air, in hot pursuit of the giant parrot as they all ascended to several hundred feet. Vikram slowed his ascent, allowing the following harpies to catch up. He wrapped his verdant wings around the Harmatriarch, meeting her gaze as they circled around each other high in the Cresent Isle sky. It was then that he dispelled the shapeshifting effect with a green poof, arms wrapping around the harpy mothers' neck as they dove into the world's longest pile driver.

Morrigan could only gape as Vikram suddenly shifted into a bright and colorful bird of paradise, taking off into the sky. Amidst Morrigan’s confusion, and the shock of watching their companion suddenly turn into a winged beast, one thought prevailed above all others.

“I can’t believe that actually worked!” Morrigan cried, before remembering that the stupefied villager was still standing there, listening. Morrigan cleared their throat and hastily corrected themselves. “I mean, I’m surprised Vikram had such a trick up his sleeve! It’s rare something like that gets past the Great Wizard of the Wastes!” They boasted.

The villager blinked at them, dumbfounded.

“… Well, Vikram has those ladies covered, so I’d say that we’ve got this all wrapped up, no?”

“My wife! Aren’t you going to save her?” The villager cried as he pointed up to the giant rocky outcropping that the harpy had taken the villager.

“Oh, right. How could I forget about that?” Morrigan said. It looked like Vikram had pulled the Harmatriarch from her nest, the village woman forgotten. It should be safe enough for Morrigan to sneak up there and get her down.

Just before they could, Morrigan Moonweaver’s Miraculous Mating Mishap came to an abrupt end as Vikram shifted back into his own form and began rapidly plummeting towards the ground.

Morrigan yelped, grabbing the villager and pulling him as far away from the blast sight as they could before Vikram and the harpy could hit the ground. He’d better have a way out of this! Is he planning on getting himself killed? None of Morrigan’s potions would be able to cure a fall from that height!

    The harpy matriarch was very surprised by the transition back to a normal person. It was almost romantic, if it weren't a monstrous being and he weren't a monster hunter. Momentarily, Vikram wondered if there was something that was the opposite of romantic. Regardless, He grabbed the harpy by her winged joint, and tilted his entire head forward with a jolt. The metal plate on the front of the turban clanged as it knocked the woman out. They continued falling as Vikram tried to separate from the harpy, only to realize she had an unconscious claw snagged in his chains.

    He didn't know the specifics of what would happen were he to return to bird form and fly away while still somewhat attached to her. He really didn't want to find out -right then-, it struck him as the wrong time. Instead, he turned into the most unassuming battle animal he had in his repetoire. The Spotted Vikverral Savannah Cat, His toes and legs splayed out as his body twisted mid-air to arrest the downward momentum. It turned out that the harpy did not in fact meld with him during transformations, fortunate. They both landed on the sandy soil below, the harpy matriarch landing with a crash and a crumple, the cat man landing with grace and prestige. The remaining harpy who got left out of the unromantic descent to the ground flew off, the vibe ruined and awkward.

    With a poof of golden mist, Vikram returned to his human shape, standing full and upright, a job well done. He looked over to the Tiefling to ensure that the civilians were taken care of.


"Huzzah! Domination of the Disastrous Denizens Demonstrated!" He shouted, raising his sword to the sky.

… Apparently, one could avoid certain death by falling from a great height by simply turning into a cat and landing on your feet. Morrigan could only gape as the villager erupted into polite applause, in awe of Vikram’s great feat of magic.

“Thank you, Master Vikram! You’ve saved us! My wife and I will be forever in your debt!” The villager proclaimed. Irritated, Morrigan cleared their throat, prompting the villager to turn around, sheepish that he had forgotten the other adventurer on the beach. “Er, and you too, Master Moonweaver. I suppose.”

“You suppose?” Morrigan huffed, wiping a little bit of sand off their face from their tumble earlier before crossing their arms.

“Well, Master Vikram was the one who actually saved us, see?”

This, of course, was the textbook definition of the phrase you reap what you sow, but somehow it had not occurred to Morrigan that Vikram might actually receive rightful praise for his heroic actions.

Oh, well. Morrigan supposed the outcome could have been worse- they had not died, nor were they exposed as a fraud. The charlatan turned on their heel and stalked off in the direction of the rock outcropping. “Right, let’s just go find your wife, yes?”

With the Harmatriarch gone, it was easy enough work finding the villager’s wife nestled in the rocks. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, which Morrigan quickly remedied with another elixir, she was thankfully unharmed.^[1] It seemed that their distraction had managed to draw her away from her perch before the civilian could be seriously hurt. The two lovers reunited with a tearful embrace, and all four made their way down to the beach once more.

The War Waged With the Woefully Wacky Winged Women came to an end- for the weeks to come, the people of the Crescent Isles would be excitedly talking about the hero that had rid their island of the harpy infestation, Vikram… and that other person, too, they supposed.

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1. Potion of Minor Healing (2/2)