Chapter 109 The Doctor Is In 5 (1/2)
Zero knew that the trees were tall. He just didn't know how tall or huge they were until Clowis showed him. The warrior jumped from branch to branch with Zero behind him and they didn't seem to get any closer to the top. Yet, the ground became further and further away until all that is left was a bed of leaves.
”Are you sure this is a shortcut?”
Clowis didn't slow down. ”Vertically up is still the fastest way to get to the Sky Bridge. If it weren't for the rocky hill earlier, we might have reached it already.”
Zero nodded. The cliff was really steep and difficult to climb. Clowis didn't have time to take breaks while climbing up the side. His sharp talons played a huge part in their ascend. Without those strong feet, they would've fallen. Zero saw how Clowis clawed into the sides of the rock firmly, leaving cracks behind. Now he knew why the rocks on the cliff looked a little strange. One might think that climbing it and leaving cracks would make it easier for scaling up the cliff wall in future, given the many potential footholds. Zero knew better now after he saw how the cracks weakened the firm rocks. The marks left behind seemed convenient to use but it was dangerous. Any wrong weight or pressure applied to them for the second time would cause the entire rock to break from the wall. It happened a few times and Zero thought that they would fall. Thankfully, Clowis had feathers to slow their fall, giving him time to recover and climb again.
”Does the climbing of cliff walls happen often?”
Clowis grinned. ”No, it's not normally done as it is dangerous. However, it is my secret training ground. In order to surpass my uncle, I've trained myself to climb the cliff several times a day.”
”Several times a day... is that why the cliff side looked so defaced?”
Clowis looked proud. ”That's the proof of my training. If I can climb the cliff in less than ten minutes, I will challenge my uncle for the position of the head warrior again.”
”Is your uncle really strong?” Zero asked and ducked to avoid getting slapped in the face by a stray branch.
Clowis hummed. ”I don't know about strong. Nobody here can win Camie in terms of strength in the village.”
Zero blinked. ”Not even Lady Zenobia? Even if she is the Chieftess?”
Clowis chuckled. ”Chieftess is respected not only because she is a strong and skilful warrior. She is respected as the leader of our village because she is the only person capable of ensuring the survival of this village. Lady Zenobia has a good eye for people and a great heart. She has good foresight and is very wise.”
Zero didn't quite understand what Clowis meant. He thought that Zenobia was the Chieftess due to her strength. ”If that is so, how come the head warrior is your uncle and not Camie?”
Clowis hummed and landed on another branch. ”Camie is strong because she is a quarter giant. However, compared to my uncle's battle experience, combat skills and the ability to lead the village in a battle, she is severely lacking. Becoming the head warrior is more than just being able to fight or being strong. If you're talking about great fighters, Gerald and Vrald can win anyone. They were ex-adventurers after all. The head warrior is an important person in the village who will bring victory in our battles and protect the villagers who cannot. Think of it this way, in case of an attack the head warrior is the first to lead the attack. He will be the first to lay his life on the battlefield.”
Zero nodded. It was a noble aspiration and Zero wished Clowis all the best.
”I've been curious for a while and don't mean to be rude. What exactly are you? You have eyes like a snake and feathers on your arm with bird feet but can't fly... you're also super strong even though you are really skinny. Amaraline and Lowis are the same too but I've never seen anyone with appearances so unique. Are you like a mix of a snake and a bird?”
Clowis paused and decided to take a short break on one of the branches. Zero got down carefully and peered down. They were a long way up and now that they've stopped, he could see that the sunlight is getting through a little more. The must be close to the top.
”You're not wrong there. Legend has it that this creature was born from a snake and a bird. To be more precise, a chicken. However, it's known to be very scary and deadly. Have you heard of a cockatrice? Some people call it Basilisk but it's almost the same thing.”
Zero shook his head. ”What's that? Why is it deadly?”
Clowis smiled. Zero seemed different from other humans. ”The Cockatrice or Basilisk is said to be born from Dragon and Phoenix blood. Snakes are considered a very distant cousin of dragons and they often do not possess magic. However, sometimes, they do. The same can be said about chickens who are distant cousins of the Phoenix. Once in a very long time when a snake with awakened Dragon blood and a chicken with awakened Phoenix blood come together to create a child, their hatchling would either become a Basilisk or a Cockatrice. Cockatrices have a chicken head and a snake tail while Basilisks have a snake's head and a bird's feet with wings.It is said that due to the strong magic in their blood, they can kill anyone by looking at them.”
Zero listened with interest As Clowis continued. Apparently, Lowis, Amaraline and Clowis were descendants of the Cockatrice. They had snake eyes, talons and wings that couldn't really fly. Although they had very watered down blood, they were still able to use some magic. Naturally, they weren't able to kill just by looking. However, Clowis admitted that Lowis was able to paralyse the enemy by looking at them. The magic broke when he blinked so Lowis didn't use it too often. Clowis couldn't paralyse anyone by looking but he could turn small items into rocks.
”See this?” Clowis held out a leaf he'd plucked from a nearby twig.
Zero nodded and Clowis looked at it with a frown of concentration on his face. The apprentice doctor gaped in amazement as the leaf slowly but surely turned into stone. The whole process took about twenty seconds but when Clowis passed the leaf to Zero, the brunet had to say, it was a really neat ability.
”Of course, this cannot be used in battle. It is far too slow,” Clowis grinned. Zero smiled and tried hitting the stone leaf on the hard trunk. Nothing happened. The leaf had really turned into stone.
”Can you turn it back or will it be stone forever?”
Clowis grimaced. ”It's permanent so while it is slow to take effect and not practical for battle, it is still terrifying to normal humans. It's not just a leaf. I can turn anything into stone if I activate the magic in my blood. It's part of the reason why we were chased away. Humans don't like us very much especially when we have powers strong enough to annihilate them.”
”But you wouldn't hurt them...”
With a sad smile, Clowis shrugged. ”Who knows? We're monsters after all. It's hard to trust a monster.”
Zero frowned. ”It's ok. I trust you.”
Unprepared to hear Zero's confident reply, Clowis almost fell off the tree but quickly righted himself. ”You're strange for a human.”
Zero shrugged. ”If you say so... I'm not really human actually so I don't mind. However, I'm sure there will be some humans who will feel the same way. Karris and Wiser are humans, they don't hate anyone in the village.”
Clowis snorted at that. ”I don't know about Karris but Wiser is a nut case. Don't believe everything he says, he's a broken human. As brilliant as some of his ideas are, most of them are plain ridiculous. I've never heard of a human who hates humans until I met him. He doesn't like Karris but he's only sticking around to record his observations about her halfling.”
Zero grinned as he climbed onto Clowis' back once more to resume their journey to the Sky Bridge. Clowis shared a few more amusing tales about Wiser and Zero decided that he wanted to meet the man someday.
Ten minutes later, Clowis let Zero down. ”Here we are, the Sky Bridge.”
The brunet took the time to observe his surroundings. The Sky Bridge was everything he imagined it be and more. They didn't break through the top of the tree but now, the sun could be seen from the foliage. The branches weren't as gnarly anymore and the vines less mossy. Encompassed by these was a bridge. No, not a bridge... numerous bridges, almost like a network of sorts. Zero was standing on one of the tiny wooden platforms connecting two of these bridges.
Clowis didn't hurry the brunet. He allowed Zero as much time as he needed to take in the breath-robbing scenery. The bridge wasn't here when Clowis first arrived at the village. It was only after Wiser entered the village and suggested building some sort of natural defence tower that it got constructed. The Sky Bridge was Half Moon's village's proudest accomplishment. It was built with the blood, sweat, tears and magic of the villagers.
Hesitantly, Zero took his first step across the bridge. The bridge was made of wood and held together by vines. Zero didn't know how steady it was seeing that it swayed in the strong breeze. He held onto the side of the bridge to stabilise himself as he walked.
Clowis followed not too far behind, amused by the brunet's behaviour. The bridge was sturdy enough to hold even Camie's weight, it wouldn't break that easily. Besides, it was enchanted with magic to detect enemies and the living vines will cut them off by detaching the bridge. Zero didn't have to know that last part. He didn't want to frighten the boy too much.
Gaining some confidence after a while, Zero finally released the side of the bridge and walked normally. Clowis then talked a little about the history of the bridge.
”Raj built this?”
The cockatrice descendant nodded. ”He didn't build it alone but he definitely designed this with Wiser and Tambolt. The rest of us pitched in with the labour although Lovina was the only one capable of enchanting it.”